The Maple Monitor 4: Canada–China EV Tariffs, Microplastics Hype, and the “Kingdom of Canada”
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): A Further Inquiry
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/09/28
Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle East Studies from Fordham University in 2006, followed by a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 2009. She operates a boutique law practice specializing in national security. She serves as President of Scarab Rising, Inc., a media and security strategic advisory firm. Additionally, she is the Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Outsider, which focuses on foreign policy, geopolitics, security, and human rights. She is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Energy, Environment, and Science and Technology Sections, where she serves as Program Vice Chair in the Oil and Gas Committee. She is also a member of the New York City Bar Association. She serves on the Middle East and North Africa Affairs Committee and affiliates with the Foreign and Comparative Law Committee.
In this interview with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Tsukerman discusses Ottawa’s review of Canada-China EV tariffs, cautioning that protectionism weakens domestic innovation as China leverages cheaper production and critical minerals. She argues governments should outcompete with efficient, resource-light models, including hybrids and hydrogen, amid mixed market signals. On microplastics, she advocates for evidence-based reporting and rejects sensational myths, noting that media illiteracy fuels panic. Tsukerman also examines the self-styled ‘Kingdom of Canada’ cult led by Romana Didulo, linking sovereign-citizen narratives to broader disinformation and potential foreign influence. Unsafe compounds, threats, and confrontations illustrate real-world harm, underscoring the need for rule-of-law responses and resilient civic institutions.
Interview conducted September 26, 2025, in the morning Pacific Time.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Ottawa is informally reviewing China’s EV tariffs with no specific deadlines. Canada has gotten on the bad side of several economically significant countries, particularly in the EV market, which is central to the long-term shift to electric. If you do not get the EV trade right, you risk being pushed out of the market and hurting your economy in the future. What do you think is the importance of reviewing these EV tariffs between Canada and China?
Irina Tsukerman: For now, China is the big winner in the EV market because its vehicles are cheaper to produce. It has direct access to critical minerals and does not need to import them. Many of its successful models are allegedly based on Western designs, meaning China has saved on labour and R&D costs by copying intellectual property. With its large population, it can undercut competition by undervaluing vehicles and flooding European, Canadian, and other markets. However, tariffs are not necessarily a good solution. They are anti-competitive and can weaken Canadian and other Western EV industries.
Another issue is that breakthroughs in alternative energy suggest electricity may not remain the dominant solution. Hybrids are currently more efficient and popular, and hydrogen-based alternatives could prove superior. The Japanese-German model, slated for 2028, for instance, claims to have resolved many of the battery and endurance issues currently facing EVs. If China over-invests in electric models, it risks being leapfrogged by competitors.
Despite increased EV demand, supply chain disruptions and the natural limits of critical minerals—including in China—have slowed production. Rising R&D costs have also delayed output from major producers. Even China may eventually need to diversify its vehicle portfolio back toward conventional models. The market signals are mixed. China has an advantage, but the overall trend may not stay in its favour. Before starting another trade war with tariffs—which has not been successful for the U.S.—Canada and others should focus on outcompeting China by creating more efficient, less resource-intensive models that ultimately surpass Chinese vehicles.
Jacobsen: On a different topic, there was an article about microplastics creating significant health problems. It is something that needs attention. However, a common myth in mainstream media is that people consume the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of microplastics every week. That is exaggerated—likely wrong by a factor of a thousand. Microplastics do cause health problems, such as chemicals leaching from plastic bottles during transport through hot environments, or the massive plastic islands in the ocean. What are your thoughts on where the fundamental importance lies, and what might be hype?
Tsukerman: The issue is overhyped and sometimes bizarre, almost in the realm of conspiracy thinking, like RFK Jr.’s focus on irrelevant dangers.
Jacobsen: But this time the concern seems to be coming more from the political left.
Tsukerman: The original anti-vaccine movement was at least partially left-wing. It emerged from Los Angeles mothers, not exactly a bastion of right-wing ideology. RFK Jr. himself is an ex-Democrat who does not fit neatly into any party. He has a history of fringe positions. This fixation on minute issues while ignoring larger health problems feels like a first-world problem mindset. That view is mistaken. We still face many serious illnesses, genetic disorders, and environmental challenges that require real solutions.
The microplastics narrative sounds sensational and marketable. It could be driven by people looking to profit, undercut competitors, or sow paranoia. RFK Jr.’s fluoride obsession, for example, overlapped with propaganda campaigns run by Iran. Microplastics could similarly be used as a distraction, keeping people hyper-focused on a largely containable issue.
The problem is that many people lack the scientific background to assess such claims. They react emotionally to words like “toxin” or “plastic” without a straightforward way to gauge the actual risk. Cancer is understood as serious, but when presented with mysterious and poorly explained threats, people panic more easily. This emotional manipulation is something the media should take responsibility for. At a minimum, journalists should consult genuine experts rather than pop authorities, and clearly explain what scientific evidence indicates about the impact on human health.
Jacobsen: Here is one of the more bizarre stories this week: “Kingdom of Canada cult.” The group was driven out of a Saskatchewan village, but some fear their return. Three more people have now been charged in the ongoing investigation. What a crazy story.
Tsukerman: It is strange, but some of these small to mid-sized cults have been proliferating recently, and not just in Canada. Similar offshoots exist in German-speaking countries. Some are monarchist revivalists looking to restore the Habsburg Empire, while others claim sovereignty for specific territories in Germany or elsewhere. They position themselves as quasi-separatists—” states within states.” In some cases, the leaders are actual descendants of monarchs. In others, they are charlatans or paid propagandists, sometimes working for Russia or for local political factions looking to stir trouble.
The leader of the “Kingdom of Canada” cult, Romana Didulo, refers to herself as the “Queen of Canada.” She is a conspiracy theorist who claims parallel authority, much like European enclaves that rely on “sovereign citizen” and pseudoscientific tropes. This raises the question of whether her project is influenced by Russian sovereignty ideology, which frames legitimate governments as corrupt and illegitimate. That narrative overlaps with far-right mythology and Russia-linked propaganda.
She also portrays herself as a spiritual authority, connecting her movement to Eurasianist and far-right mystical groups in Europe. These groups often invoke ancient mythologies to give their authoritarian movements an aura of transcendence. Didulo has encouraged followers to confront officials, raising the possibility that she is more than just a delusional cult leader—that she may be deliberately provoking polarization. None of her claims has legal standing or recognition.
Her compound itself was unsafe, with sewage issues, a cut-off water supply, and neglect. Some followers threatened violence, attempted “citizens’ arrests” of Canadian officials, and engaged in typical cult dynamics: authoritarian control, manipulation, and abusive demands for loyalty. This is not harmless eccentricity—it is a public safety risk and potentially part of a foreign disinformation strategy.
It is unclear why anyone accepts her claims, given that she has no royal lineage and offers nothing beyond a crumbling compound. However, she promises vague spiritual rewards, like a “golden era,” to keep people committed.
What we are seeing is the emergence of conspiracy theories and disinformation generating real-world structures in rural or remote areas, where independent militias or cult enclaves can form. If this is an organized campaign by a state or quasi-state actor, likely, other similar groups are already emerging elsewhere in Canada.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Irina.
Tsukerman: Sounds good.
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